


Coffee War Christmas

by Neverever



Category: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Genre: Coffee, Fluff and Angst, Holidays, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-17 09:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13073907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: After realizing that he loves Steve, Tony finds out that he might have missed his opportunity to ask Steve out.





	Coffee War Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caped-Ace (PsychopompSentinel)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychopompSentinel/gifts).
  * Translation into 中文 available: [Coffee War Christmas|咖啡战争圣诞节](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900651) by [vdb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vdb/pseuds/vdb)



> Hope this matches your hopes for your HE prompt, Caped-Ace!
> 
> For reference, here are the song lyrics for [Robyn's version of Dancing on My Own](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/robyn/dancingonmyown.html) and [a video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcNo07Xp8aQ)
> 
> Big thanks to Arms_Plutonic for beta'ing the story.

If it wasn't for the other thing, Tony would have remembered this Christmas as the “Coffee War Christmas.”

Tony wasn’t present for the initial shots of the coffee war. It was totally Clint's fault, though. He shouldn't have taken on T'Challa, who was a king and a very smart person and had some significant advantages.

He had heard from Pepper who heard from Sue who heard from Carol that T'Challa and Clint had a bet going on about the best coffee in the world (or something like that -- Tony didn't catch all the details).

Despite having inhaled several oceans’ worth of coffee over his lifespan, Tony had not formed any strong opinions about coffee or coffee machines or coffee making. The taste just depended on the circumstances. Cold coffee in the lab tasted different than coffee at a board meeting, which was vastly different from coffee at breakfast with Steve. It could have been the same brand of coffee for all Tony cared; it was the circumstances that made it taste like heaven or like garbage. For one thing, everything was brighter and sharper and more delicious if Steve was involved. That was a true and indisputable fact. (Tony had scientifically verified it).

Sue was in the office with Pepper coordinating the big event of the year-end holiday season to raise money for a number of charities dedicated to helping the world recover from the devastating effects of Galactus' invasion. 

Tony half-listened to Sue and Pepper as they agreed and argued over details while he gleefully read the recent earnings reports. He had spent nearly every waking hour the past few months pouring sweat and toil into getting Stark Industries back on track. Fighting Galactus wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that helped a large multinational’s bottom line all that much.

"Do you have the list of participating Avengers for the date auction?” Sue asked. "Johnny jumped at the chance. And I talked Ben into it."

"The Avengers can be counted on to volunteer for charity -- we have a long list, starring Tony."

Tony grinned. By the time that date auction happened, he expected he’d be off the market and Rhodey would be the star of the auction. 

His whole plan fell into place last night, actually. When he found himself missing Steve fiercely. They had been nearly inseparable since the whole Skrull invasion and there was a reason for that. Well, Tony knew what that reason was now. Now, all he needed was the right moment before Christmas to tell Steve how he felt. He was tempted to set up New Year’s Eve plans right away.

He knew how Steve felt about him. All it took was that text from last night -- “Missed you at the team exercise today.” Tony had nearly sent a text back saying that he missed Steve like he missed breathing. No one says that to a friend! And it wouldn’t have occurred to him to say it, if he didn’t have the feeling that Steve felt the same way.

The evidence Tony had to support his supposition were a couple of years of memories and photos and texts and voicemails and all that jazz, all pointing to Steve being into Tony. Hell, Steve would have kissed him after Purple Man incident if it hadn’t been for that meddling reporter. Or after they took down the Supreme Intelligence, if it hadn’t been for whole team wanting to celebrate. 

The fact that he nearly kissed Steve or Steve nearly kissed him on enough occasions meant that Tony could not be wrong that Steve had a thing for him and he had a thing for Steve. The past three months of separation caused by Tony’s work made it clear to him that he should say something now and start the New Year off right.

“Uh, Tony?” Pepper asked from the doorway. “I had to schedule that call from the head of the Singapore office over lunch tomorrow. It’s a follow up on that crisis -- ”

“Okay,” Tony replied.

“That means that I had to cancel your lunch with Steve.”

Tony sighed. No, this couldn’t be happening! Not again. Not when he had so much to say to Steve. “How many times has it been now?”

“Five times in the past two months. He says he understands and you can reschedule.”

“This time, make it dinner. Tomorrow.”

Pepper grimaced. “I don’t know if I can do that until after the new year. Your evening schedule is packed.”

“What about this Friday --?”

“You have an Avengers party.”

“Wait -- it can’t be the annual holiday party yet?” Tony scrambled to find a calendar. He knew it had been the end of November that morning when he walked into the office. 

Pepper checked her tablet. “Carol’s birthday party.”

~~~~~

“Yeah, we decided to throw Carol a birthday party at the last minute,” Jan said. “I know it’s not really her birthday, but we wanted to cheer her up.”

Tony had managed to meet up with Jan at a coffee shop around the corner from the Stark Tower. It had been easy to find her. Jan was the one wearing a red knit hat with a large white pom-pom and white reindeer while surrounded by a pile of shopping bags. He slid into the seat across from her. 

She blew on her coffee to cool it. “Carol knows about it, by the way, in case you were worried about that. Friday at 8, most of the team and the backup Avengers and hangers-on are going to be there,” she replied. “Clint and I want a real blowout.”

“Most of the team?”

Jan made a face. “Not Hank -- he’s out somewhere sorting himself out.” She sipped her coffee and shrugged. “And probably not Bruce --he’s going through this phase where he gets jumpy around loud noises.”

“Yeah, that’s not a good thing.”

“So that’s the deal with Friday. You’ll be there, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Then Jan leaned over the table and whispered like they were being spied on. “Don’t say anything about the coffee. Please.”

“What?” 

“Shh.” She looked around the coffee shop. “Carol and I will be in your debt forever if you just don’t say anything about coffee at the party. Everyone in the mansion has been --” She shook her hands. “Just don’t.”

He eyed her suspiciously. “Is Steve involved?”

“Steve’s not around much. Fury and Hill asked him to help out with SHIELD.” She checked her phone. “I’ve got to go. Be there on Friday, okay?” She jumped up, grabbed her bags, and headed out.

“Right.”

An hour later, he remembered that he’d forgotten to find out if Cap would be at the party. Wait, of course he would be there. After Galactus, Steve had finally agreed to take over as the Avengers’ leader. Tony had only asked several dozen times. And, as Tony had thought, Steve was doing a bang-up job at it. Besides, Steve was one of the Avengers who lived in the mansion. It’d be odd if he wasn’t there.

Steve had to be there -- they had a lot to talk about.

~~~~~

Pepper made sure that Tony was not late to the party — she kicked him out of the office, handed him a couple of bags of snack food, and had a car drop him at the mansion. He arrived in time to watch Clint and Rhodey moving furniture around in the old ballroom. Carol was hanging garland. Then she playfully dropped a ornament on Rhodey’s head.

Not looking up at Tony, Clint said, “Put the food in the kitchen.”

Rhodey smiled at him. “Hey, Tony.”

“I could’ve had this whole thing catered,” Tony stated. “And professionally decorated.” 

Clint scoffed. “This is supposed to be a fun thing, not some sort of corporate, catered fancy event. We’re just doing karaoke, not poker, this time.” He glanced over at Rhodey, who was eyeing the piano in the corner of the room. “Between you and me, I think it’s because Jan doesn’t want to lose at poker again.”

“Right.” Someone involved in the party planning had a secret love for karaoke, and he wouldn’t put money on it being Carol or Rhodey.

“Rhodes, do you think we could get Hulk to move some of the furniture?”

Catching Tony’s eye, Rhodey rolled his eyes. “No.” 

Tony put the snacks on the kitchen table directly opposite two coffee machines on the counter. There were bags of ground coffee and coffee beans on either side, with cups and mugs and syrup bottles and shakers and what looked like an electric frother lined up on either side. A large container marked “Vote here” was also on the counter next to a pile of different colored chips. 

“What is --”

Jan turned around from the sink and made a violent motion for Tony to zip his lips. “We don’t talk about coffee fight club, Tony! I warned you.”

He walked over to the machines. “What if I want coffee?”

“Do what I do and get it from the place around the corner.” She set out platters and bowls. “Now get away from there and help me fill these up.”

Tony’s party standards were a bit different from his teammates. But this wasn’t bad. He was getting to see his friends for the first time in months outside of a mission, and Jan made an amazing crab dip. Although this was turning out to be more like a sit-around-the-mansion-and-watch-Clint-struggle-with-electronics event for Tony.

He couldn’t sit by and watch Clint destroy a perfectly innocent machine that had done nothing wrong except for existing in the Avengers mansion. “What --”

Clint threw up his hands. “Fine. Take over.”

Jan kept him company after Clint stomped away. “Where is Steve?” he asked.

She shrugged. “He said he’d be here after his meeting with SHIELD.”

Tony snapped a few fittings into place and hooked up the last cords. He tested the screen. The karaoke machine was ready to go. 

“Sounds like he’s at SHIELD a lot these days.”

“Don’t you know? I thought you guys were as thick as thieves.”

Tony brushed off his jeans and stood up. He’d seen Steve on missions, which had been kind of rare since Galactus. But debriefings and trips in the quinjet weren’t great places to do any sort of catch-up. Steve had been persistent about meeting up for lunch for some reason. Tony should have rescheduled before leaving work. 

A couple of hours into the party and it was inevitable that someone would try the karaoke machine. Tony sat off to the side with Rhodey and Hank talking about ants. Somehow they always ended up talking about ants with Hank. Jan sashayed up the machine dragging Luke behind her. 

“Hey guys, time to get your song on!” She started belting out, “I want to dance with somebody” complete with winks and hipshakes in Hank’s direction. 

Tony had a love-hate relationship with karaoke. Right now it was definitely on the hate side. Hank looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Rhodey escaped to track down Carol “before Jan asks me to find her.” When had that started, Tony wondered?

And where the hell was Steve? Tony scanned the crowd of Avengers, back-up Avengers and Avenger friends. Steve should have been here at 8 o’clock on the dot. That was a Steve Thing.

Finally, Steve arrived. Tony watched in slow motion as Steve walked in wearing jeans and a blue sweater, a small band of SHIELD agents tagging along. He recognized Jimmy Woo and Jasper Sitwell among the agents, but couldn’t place the blonde woman at Steve’s side. And he didn’t like how tightly the woman clung to Steve’s side.

Jan nudged him. “That’s Sharon Carter -- she’s a new SHIELD agent. Cap’s been working closely with her.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. Just how closely were they working? As closely as _he_ worked with Steve?

“And they’re dating,” Jan added. “Isn’t that great? Cap needs some happiness in his life -- he’s been real down since Galactus.” 

Tony’s head whipped around to Jan with dizzying speed. Excuse him, but there was only one person Steve would be dating and that person would be him. He looked back at Steve as Sharon handed him a cup of punch and they began to work their way through the party. Steve never so much as glanced at Tony, or his general direction, or even his side of the room. 

Could he have been wrong? Steve had always been ready to join Tony for lunch or sparring or talking late at night in the library. It had been Their Thing. 

Why was Steve totally ignoring him sitting in the far corner by the piano in a dark area where the room lights didn’t reach? It was like Steve couldn’t even see him.

He never heard the next karaoke song as he sat stunned. One minute he was on top of the world dreaming of Steve his new boyfriend. And the next, he was like last week’s garbage. He knew exactly where Steve was in the room, where he went, who he was talking to. Like the lodestone of Tony’s life.

Breathless from laughing, Carol plopped down on the piano stool next to Tony. She nudged him with her shoulder. “Come on, I did my turn. You’re next.”

“That’s okay, Carol,” he said. He was rapidly losing all interest in the party. 

“Everyone else is doing it, Tony. Jan! Find a song for Tony,” Carol commanded.

The song Jan queued up was the worst possible choice as Tony recognized the opening notes and the line -- _“Somebody said you got a new friend …”_ Tony had always liked “Dancing On My Own,” but not right now. Yet the crowd continued egging him on to sing. 

He turned to the piano keys, hoping he could charm his way out of singing by playing a few notes. Jan, that traitor, restarted the song and nodded at him expectantly. The only way he was getting out of this was to play along as he sang, just like he had when his parents trotted him out at their parties to entertain their friends. 

And it got worse -- as the song progressed he started belting out the words, the lyrics resonating in his chest and filling his ears until they drowned out the party, the audience, everything except the feelings of loss and despair. 

_“I'm in the corner watching you kiss her ….”_ Tears welled in his eyes, threatening to turn into a rain. _“And I'm right over here. Why can't you see me?”_

The words kept sticking in his throat and his fingers shook as he played like a man possessed. _“I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home.”_

Mercifully, he finally came to the end of the song before he dissolved into a puddle. _“I keep dancing on my own.”_

He took a deep breath and turned to the room. Everyone burst into wild applause at his performance. And there was Steve, standing with a dumbfounded look on his face, his ever-present friend Sharon right next to him. 

“Whoo! Let’s hear for it for Tony! Who knew you had it in you?” Jan shouted. “Next! You!” She pointed at Thor.

Tony lowered his forehead to the keys as Carol rubbed gentle circles on his back. Rhodey rushed over with drinks. “Are you okay, Tony?” he asked.

On the other side of the room, Clint snapped at T’Challa, “I said, my Seattle special roast coffee is better than your pigswill, no matter how much you paid for it.”

T’Challa pulled himself haughtily up to his full regal height. “I don’t have to pay for my Wakandan coffee, but I choose to do so to support the small farmers of my country.”

Clint shook his head. “Well, something ain’t right with that coffee. My coffee is definitely in the lead.”

Lifting his head, Tony exchanged a look with Rhodey, who mouthed the words -- ‘don’t ask.’

Vision, helpful as always, chimed in. “I have done a considerable review of the commercial coffee available to the average consumer in New York, specifically Manhattan, and after cross-referencing the data with reviews and volume sales, I have determined that the best coffee is a Columbian blend sold by a import store --”

Clint and T’Challa both frowned. “Put your money where your, um, mouth is, robot guy,” Clint said. “You know the drill -- set up the machine, provide the coffee, and let the team vote their favorite.”

“I am not a robot --”

“Yes, if you decide to challenge our coffee, you must back up your claims,” T’Challa stated.

“Oh, great, now we’ll have to vote all over again,” Rhodey grumbled. “I’ve never had so much coffee in my life.”

“Come on, Tony,” Carol urged. “Let’s go into the library.” She motioned with her head for Rhodey to join them.

By the time they reached the library, Tony had pulled himself together. And he hadn’t looked in Steve’s direction at all, not once, to see if Steve had noticed him not looking. Damn it, he was turning into an insecure fifth-grader at the mere mention of Steve. He slumped on the couch in front of the fireplace. 

“What was all that about, Tony?” Carol asked.

Tony shook his head in the universal sign of not-wanting-to-talk-about-it. Carol glanced at Rhodey, who shook his head ‘no.’ They proceeded to try to cheer him up by telling some funny stories from training. 

“You want to go home, Tony?” Rhodey finally asked when he got a small rise out of Tony with a story about Clint falling on his face.

“Sure.”

He would be glad to go home, where he never needed to leave again, where he could forget that this party had ever happened.

~~~~~

At 3 am, Tony was staring at his bedroom ceiling, trying to make sense of what happened at the party. Okay, fine, he got the whole coffee contest. Which was crazy. Pleasantly surprised and happy that Carol and Rhodey had a thing going on. Confused and upset that Steve had a girlfriend. A girlfriend that everyone knew about and no one had bothered to tell him.

“Tell me, what’s the deal with Steve and Sharon?” he asked Rhodey over the phone.

“Tony, it’s three in the morning,” Rhodey replied sleepily. “How much coffee did you drink tonight?”

“I’m not talking about coffee. It’s about Steve.”

Rhodey yawned loudly. “I don’t know, Tones. I don’t talk to Steve about that stuff.”

“Jan says that they’re dating.”

“Tony, people think that they’re dating. I don’t know if Steve is, in fact, dating her. Why aren’t you calling Steve right now? Don’t you talk to him about everything? Ask him about his alleged girlfriend.”

“I want to talk to Carol.”

“I love you like a brother, Tony, but I’m hanging up now.”

Tony took a deep breath. Okay. Well, he’d been wrong about Steve. Really wrong. That was easy enough to deal with -- he would just forget all his feelings and bury the memory. He was a champ at that. It was a pipe dream anyway.

But what if Steve was leaving the Avengers to join SHIELD?

That he couldn’t live with.

~~~~~

Tony brooded over the whole thing for most of Saturday until Rhodey showed up with takeout, a DVD movie and Carol.

They found Tony staring at his laptop. "So that's Sharon," Tony said to the unanswering SHIELD database. “Steve’s girlfriend.”

Sharon Carter was kind of SHIELD elite, being related to the legendary Peggy Carter. Her godfather was Jack Fury, and she had recommendations from nearly all the Howling Commandos when she applied to the SHIELD academy. Since then she had won dozens of awards, citations and prizes. She was designed as the perfect Steve bait -- tall, blonde, athletic, hated HYDRA. She probably loved baseball and motorcycles, too.

"You're assuming," Carol chided him. 

"I can't imagine anyone more perfect for Cap," Tony said. 

He caught a glimpse of Carol barely restraining herself from hitting him. She settled for an eyeroll. “Talk to Steve, Tony.”

“Hey, let’s watch the movie!” Rhodey suggested, shaking the disc at them.

~~~~~

By Monday, Tony had a general working theory about why Steve was dating Sharon. “It’s all Maria Hill’s fault,” Tony groused. “She set Steve up with that Carter person so that she could seduce him into working for SHIELD.”

“Uh huh, Tony,” Pepper said. She was sitting across from him, engrossed in whatever report she was reading. She tucked her hair behind her ear, sending her little Santa earrings dancing. 

“It’s what Hill’s always wanted -- Steve working for SHIELD and Fury, since she doesn’t like the Avengers, and Cap looks like a company man.” He swung back and forth in his office chair, thinking back on all the ways Hill had tried to stop the Avengers.

“Tony, Steve doesn’t like Maria Hill any more than you do. He’s had plenty of chances to work for SHIELD and he hasn’t yet. Why would his girlfriend working for SHIELD make him want to work for SHIELD?”

Tony tipped back in his chair. Logically he knew Pepper was right. But he had seen them together, the whole SHIELD squad at the party. Why would Steve want to stay with the Avengers if his heart was somewhere else?

“Have you talked to Steve about this?” Pepper asked, arching an eyebrow.

“No,” he admitted.

“Cap is one of your best friends -- you’ve been meaning to have lunch with him for the past three months. Just have lunch and ask about his girlfriend. You should worry if Steve asks to meet with you here -- then you know he’s leaving.”

Tony sat bolt upright. “What?” 

Pepper scrambled to take back her words. “Steve hasn’t asked for a meeting! But you should have lunch soon -- he sounded a bit sad and disappointed when I called to reschedule last week.”

“Free up my calendar then.”

~~~~~

The next day, Tony decided to stop by the mansion hoping he could catch Steve. Someone had strung fir garlands and ornaments around the foyer and taped cards around the doorways. He passed two elaborate coffee makers and an espresso machine next to the door, clearly destined for the kitchen. No one talks about Coffee Fight Club, right.

Bruce, Jan and Clint were talking in the main conference room. “Hey, Tony,” Jan said, waving to him to join them.

“So, about the party --” Clint started. Jan elbowed him. “Oh come on, you want to know what happened too. Carol won’t tell us anything.”

“What about the party?” Tony asked.

“The whole breakdown scene after Steve arrived,” Clint pointed out. “Like you were crying in your beer or something. Made everyone uncomfortable.”

“You nearly started a fight with T’Challa over --”

Jan stomped on his foot. She mouthed ‘don’t say it.’

Bruce asked, “So, are you and Cap on the outs for some reason?”

“Yeah, you’ve barely been in touch since Galactus and Cap taking over the Avengers. Steve doesn’t want to talk about it.” Clint looked to Jan and Bruce for help. “We were wondering if you and Steve had a fight or something. Before Galactus you were always over here hanging out with Steve. Now, nothing, nada, zip.”

“I have a company to run, you know.”

“Most of the team is busy with other commitments. You just seemed to drop off the face of the planet,” Bruce added. “Cap’s been -- well, he didn’t look happy that you were only here for missions.” He shrugged. “He asked about you at first, but kind of gave up after a while when no one else had seen you either.”

“Maybe there’s a different reason?” Jan asked. “You seemed upset when I said that Steve was dating --”

“That’s it!” Clint whistled long and low. “You know, we thought you were angry at him, not that you were upset at not getting in his pants,” Clint said. “We were wrong, apparently. You’re head over heels for him, short of us catching you plucking daisy petals and asking if he loves me or loves me not.”

Tony glared at Clint. “I am not upset about Steve -- and whatever.” He threw up his arms. “I mean -- can Steve still run the Avengers and help SHIELD? Shouldn’t the Avengers be the priority?”

Bruce groaned. “You’re nuts, Stark.”

Jan put her hand on Tony’s arm. “Seriously, Tony, did you think that Steve was going to wait around forever for you?”

Tony crossed his arms. “I just think he should be dating better people than SHIELD agents.”

“Sounds like whether or not Cap’s dating anyone is the real problem,” Clint said helpfully.

“I didn’t say that was the real reason -- I don’t care who Steve dates. I’m not interested in him romantically,” Tony snapped. “I just don’t want him working for SHIELD.”

Of course, that was the perfect time for Steve to walk into the conference room. He looked around as everyone looked up with stricken faces. “Uh, Thor wanted to know if anyone was free to spar. I, um, have work at SHIELD and can’t --”

“Love to, Cap. It’s been a while since Hulk’s been able to cut loose,” Bruce said as he leapt for the door. “Tell him I’m on my way.”

Steve fiddled with his shield. “That -- that answers my question.” Surprisingly, Steve then slunk out of the conference room, not even looking Tony in the eye.

Tony thought about following him. He hesitated in the doorway, debating whether he should follow Steve. Steve didn’t look all that friendly as he headed down the hallway. And Tony needed to get back to Stark Industries -- he had an afternoon of meetings and a tux fitting in the early evening.

He really should talk to Steve at some point, though. 

~~~~~

Pepper was not able to find a time for him to have lunch or dinner or even breakfast with Steve any time soon. “It’s two and a half weeks to Christmas -- we have the charity gala a couple of days after that and then it’s New Year’s Eve. Your schedule is full -- I can’t move anything. And that’s even before I ask Steve and attempt to get a reservation at a halfway decent place.”

“Pepper.”

“I don’t tell you how to fly the suit, don’t tell me about how to do your schedule.”

“I never had problems before --”

“That’s when you told me that the Avengers were top priority. When the company had a bad quarter, you told me that Stark Industries was. And this year, you were very popular with charities and then there are the company parties --”

“Fine! Fine! I get it,” Tony snapped. He closed his eyes and thought of Steve out there somewhere having fun without him. With other people. Not being his friend anymore.

He’d already given up on Steve being anything more than a friend. But now it had gotten worse -- the idea of losing Steve as a friend and teammate.

How much money could he throw at people to clear his calendar so he could finally have that one seriously overdue lunch with Steve? He had to figure something out, even if it meant camping in the mansion to wait for Steve.

“Ah, Tony, one final question.”

“What?”

“Why did the Avengers spend nearly two thousand dollars on coffee, coffee supplies, and coffee equipment in the past week? Accounts Payable wants to know.”

~~~~~

“I’m here to check out the kitchen remodel,” Tony announced as he walked into the mansion kitchen.

“Okay, Tony,” Steve replied. He was cooking oatmeal at the stove and barely looked at Tony.

The kitchen remodel had been desperately needed after a few years of Avengers’ hard living. For one thing, the old refrigerator was seriously undersized for the team and had to be replaced by a much larger model. But that meant cutting out some cabinets and counters. Which meant moving the stove. It was a complicated thing, as Pepper told him. 

The remodel looked good at 5 am in the New York City daylight. Tony should probably turn on more lights to see better. It was still kind of gray and dark outside, and Steve only had a few lights on. Probably to save electricity or something.

“Kitchen looks good,” Tony repeated.

“It does. Thank you for doing it,” Steve said. He was plating his bacon and scrambled eggs while the Andrews Sisters sang Christmas songs over the speakers.

Kind of a different breakfast from the days of Tony’s bowl of tofu and Steve’s glass of raw eggs. Steve still ate standing up and reading the newspaper. 

Tony stood at the counter fiddling with a napkin. He wanted to say something, anything, and for once words failed him. They had eaten breakfast together lots of times, and Steve had always listened to him and not read his paper. And, god, did Tony want to rip that paper out of Steve’s hands and ask him what was wrong between them all of a sudden.

“It’s fine if you’re dating Sharon,” he said.

“What?” Steve asked, looking up from his paper. 

“Sharon -- it’s okay if you date her -- it’s not as if Maria Hill is paying her to seduce you away from the Avengers. She’s a good person.”

Steve blinked a couple of times. “I don’t --”

“I mean, I guess I can understand if you want to leave the Avengers. Is it money? Because I can pay you more. Or is it the benefits -- I don’t think even SHIELD can top our major medical insurance -- It’s the bedroom suite, right? Just say the word and I can remodel the place. Or did you want a better location?”

“Tony, I’m not leaving the Avengers,” Steve stated firmly. “Why would you think that?”

“Oh, you know, people saying stuff.” Tony shrugged. 

Steve rubbed his face and sighed. “Why would I leave the Avengers when you stood by me after the Skrull invasion? And so many other times?”

“Things change?” Tony offered. “People change their uniforms and teams all the time. You’d look great in a SHIELD uniform, by the way -- all dark blue with those strappy leather belt things for weapons and phones.”

Steve folded his newspaper. “Did you have coffee yet?”

“I had coffee about two hours ago, I think. The evening’s kind of a blur -- I’ve been designing a new drone for the company.”

“And when did you last eat?”

Tony frowned. “I -- I don’t know. I had a company thing last night --”

“Sit.” Steve went over to the refrigerator to get more eggs and bacon. 

“You don’t have to --”

Steve smiled at him for the first time in what felt like years. “Looks like you could use some food.”

Tony felt a little unsettled by Steve’s sudden warmth. Like maybe there wasn’t really a problem between them, or there never had been a problem. Steve was cooking him breakfast, nothing fancy, but it was Steve. He sat down on the barstool, ready to watch Steve at work as if he were a masterpiece hanging in the MET. 

But the long row of coffee makers and two espresso machines and the towering bags of coffee beans caught his eye. The machines he had seen a week and a half ago had multiplied and conquered an adjourning countertop and claimed a table. “What’s going on?”

Steve pushed over a fresh plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. “Seriously, you don’t want to know. I’m trying to keep out of it too.”

“Thanks for breakfast, Cap,” Tony said. 

They ate listening to the music for a few minutes, until Steve finished his plate. “Uh, Tony, I know you stopped by to see the kitchen -- you’re a very busy man. But, um, is there something I did? Or said?”

“What?” Tony asked, looking up from his excellent eggs. “I’m not following.”

Steve shifted from foot to foot with a pained look on his face as he looked at everything in the kitchen but Tony. “You’ve been generous with your time with the Avengers. When you asked me to take on being leader, I didn’t know at the time that you were planning to leave --”

“I’m not leaving the Avengers.”

Steve was a large man with broad shoulders who drew the attention of everyone around him. But Tony almost swore he saw pre-serum Steve standing in front of him, nervous and uncertain. 

Steve took a deep breath. “Tony, we’ve been friends ever since you pulled me from the ice. But lately --”

Tony leaned in closer to Steve. “Yeah?”

“Why are you avoiding the team?”

“Why are you dating Sharon?”

Steve stepped back. He cocked his head to the side. “What does Sharon have to do you with you avoiding me?”

“You think I’m avoiding you? Why would you think that?”

“You’ve cancelled our sparring sessions, we don’t talk after missions anymore --” Steve’s voice cracked. “I don’t know what went wrong. What I did --”

Tony reached for Steve. His hand was barely an inch away and --

“HEY!” Clint shouted as he slid into the kitchen. “Have you guys voted yet?”

Feeling murderous, Tony wheeled around to glare at Clint. “Vote?” he asked icily. He had never wanted to remove a teammate from the face of the earth as much as he did right then. 

“Yeah -- for the coffee you like the most.” Clint waved his hand over the long row of coffee makers. “There are a few other things you can vote on -- coffee versus espresso, homemade versus retail, milk versus cream, sugar versus Splenda. Hank has a huge spreadsheet with all the details.” He poked at one coffee maker and adjusted a dial for brew strength. 

Steve frowned. “Clint -- isn’t this a little early for you?”

“The early bird wins the coffee contest,” Clint chirped back. “By the way, Tony -- don’t listen to Steve about coffee. He liked the instant coffee back in the war.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at Steve. Who shrugged. “It was convenient, tasted like coffee and was mostly served hot.”

Carol wandered in, yawning and running fingers through her hair. “Full house this morning,” she observed.

So much for his private talk with Steve that had been the most interesting conversation in the world before the team descended on the kitchen at an obscenely early hour of the day. He looked wearily up at Steve, who was frozen in place. Tony was officially out of time since he was due at Stark Industries. 

“Catch you later, Steve?” he asked, his eyes wide and pleading.

“Sure,” Steve replied.

“Are you going to bring your girlfriend with you to the party, Cap?” Clint teased. “Sharon’s real fun to have around -- she’s too good for SHIELD.”

Steve dumped his dishes in the sink. “I’ll clean up later,” he muttered on his way out. Tony sat at the counter, bewildered, trying to figure out what had just happened.

Carol elbowed Clint and hissed at him, “Cap’s not dating Sharon, idiot.”

“How do you know that?”

“Bobbi told me yesterday,” Carol snapped back. 

“Bobbi never said anything to me!”

“She probably didn’t get a chance since all you talk about is coffee.”

Tony jumped to his feet to run after Steve. But he had just missed him -- there was no sign of Steve anywhere. He asked JARVIS to track him down, but Steve was long gone out of the building.

~~~~~

There was no Avengers holiday party -- cancelled because the Masters of Evil had the worst timing ever in declaring their intent to take over the world. The whole team grumbled through the fight and post-fight cleanup. Nearly everyone had holiday plans and the Masters of Evil were interrupting them.

After they had finally subdued the Masters of Evil, Tony asked Steve, “Have time for a cup of coffee?”

Steve groaned. “Don’t talk to me about coffee. Clint and T’Challa have already decided to continue the contest until the New Year.”

“How about something else, that’s not here and doesn’t involve the team?”

“Give me a few minutes to check in with Hill.”

Before Tony could make his plans with Steve, Rhodey reminded him that they and Carol were supposed to head to the Rhodes’ family home for Christmas in a few hours. “If we wait, we’ll probably be stuck until we can file new flight plans,” Rhodey pointed out.

Tony gambled all the time during fights and missions. But this would be his biggest gamble yet -- an informed gamble, given that Steve had tipped his hand the other day. If he was right, this would be the best Christmas ever. If he was wrong, he’d be alone for the holiday and missing out on Mrs. Rhodes’ delicious chocolate bourbon pecan pie.

“Rhodey -- why don’t you go ahead without me.”

“What? Mom won’t let me forget it if I leave you alone.”

“I won’t be alone.” Carol would be thrilled to have Rhodey all to herself (along with a half-dozen doting nieces and nephews).

An hour later, Steve emerged from his debriefing with Hill looking annoyed and unhappy. But he brightened the instant he saw Tony. “Carol told me you might have to leave soon, so I didn’t know if you would still be here.”

Giddy at the idea of finally having Steve to himself, Tony bounced on his heels. “So, I owe you for that breakfast last week.”

“Oh?” Steve smiled even brighter.

“Let’s get cleaned up and go find a place.”

“Cap, you got a minute?” Sharon said as she ran up to them.

Even though he knew better, a spike of fear hit Tony where it counted. He still didn’t know exactly what Steve wanted to say. And if SHIELD wanted him to stick around, he might not get to know for another week or more. 

“Only a minute. Tony and I are heading out for dinner,” Steve said.

Good boy, Steve! Tony straightened, the pang in his heart receding.

“You forgot to sign this.” Sharon waved a tablet at him. “Oh, is this the famous Tony Stark?” She reached out to shake Tony’s hand. “Cap talks about you all the time.” She winked and said in a whisper to Tony while Steve checked the report on the tablet, “He talks so much about you, one might think he’s sweet on you.”

“Sweet on me?”

“Not my words,” she added mysteriously. She took the tablet Steve handed back to her. “Thanks, Cap. See you after the holidays!”

Steve hooked his shield on his back. “Race you to the mansion?”

Tony smirked. “Or I could just give you a ride, so you can leave that ridiculous SHIELD motorcycle behind.”

“You’ve got a deal.”

“It’s a date.”

Steve’s smile glowed like the sun itself. “It’s a date.”

~~~~~

They ended up talking for hours at an all-night diner, catching up on this and that. Tony hadn’t laughed that much since the last time they had dinner together. He leaned back in their booth, taking in the numerous poinsettias and wreaths dotting the tables and walls with soft holiday music playing in the background. He couldn’t imagine a more perfect place to be at that moment with Steve.

After demolishing his third piece of apple pie, Steve admitted, “You know, I thought you were leaving the Avengers.”

“No -- wait -- why would you think that?” Tony replied, startled.

“You haven’t been around much for the past three months and we could never meet for lunch. Pepper told me your company was having trouble. I figured that you might need to focus on that.”

Tony nodded and sipped his black coffee. “Well, I’m coming back full time. It’s time -- I missed everyone.”

“Everyone?”

“Honestly, I could still drop kick Clint and Hank off the planet sometimes, but there’s one person I miss the most.” 

“Just one person?”

The warmth of the diner, the excellent coffee and the best company in the world gave Tony all the courage he needed. That, and Steve’s eager smile. He took a deep breath. “I missed you like I miss breathing, Steve.”

Steve took his hand in his. “I missed you like I miss breathing too, Tony.”

“I wanted to tell you a month ago -- over lunch. But, you know,” Tony shrugged.

Steve snorted. “If I’d known you thought I was dating Sharon, I would’ve said something to you at the party.”

“Eh, water under the bridge. I guess I have to tell Pepper I can’t do the charity date auction.” 

Steve squeezed Tony’s hand. “I was going to bid on you. All the money I have in the world -- if only to get you alone to ask you for a date.”

“Boy, Pepper and Sue are going to be disappointed. We could have raised so much money -- I wasn’t about to let anyone outbid me for you.” Tony motioned for the check. “I’m a generous man, so I’ll let you tell me how much you missed me back at the mansion.”

Steve drained his coffee. “Hmm, we should get more of this for the team.”

“It’s great coffee,” Tony agreed. “Wait -- you’re planning something.”

“The coffee contest has gone on long enough,” Steve replied. “You have no idea. It’s been all day, every day, for the past month. I’m the only one left who can even taste anything but coffee.”

“You’re thinking of changing out all the coffee with this?”

“Yes — everyone is out of the mansion until after Christmas.”

“And then --?”

“Watch Clint and T’Challa lose it.”

“Hahahaha. I want to be there when you tell them.” Tony laughed.

They kissed outside the diner for the first time, a soft, sweet kiss where their noses bumped into each other and Tony felt like he was fourteen again having his first kiss. They kissed again at the intersection the next block over. Their third kiss was on the other side of the intersection, and they walked together, hand-in-hand, back to the mansion.

As they waited to cross the street to the mansion, Tony remembered that he hadn’t cancelled his New Year’s reservations for himself plus one. Hmm, Steve, vacation, sipping hot coffee in front of a roaring fire while snowed in at a luxury ski resort. Best plan ever.


End file.
